Friday, March 27, 2015

It's catch up time here in shackland. First up is Sacred Song - courtesy of my old HS friend Lin. Lin is the opposite of me when it comes to faith, God and religion. She is a very devout lady. I am not. I am not a believer but I do not deny the existence of Jesus. He was simply the most interesting person who has ever lived. But the son of God? Virgin birth? Nope. But I am not an atheist that belittles those who believe in those things. This song most definitely describes my feelings on the matter -

I have found, however, certain songs do calm mne and make me more reflective. Here's one of them -

On to this weeks topic - A Working Peace System. Since I submitted the topic I didn't have to Google it :-).

Peace is not merely the absence of war, as some would have us believe. There was a school of thought championed by a gentleman named David Mitrany called the functional theory of international development. It was rather simple, straight forward and oh so logical sounding. Nations should focus on those things they shared in common. Develop small regional international agencies to work together to solve those issues. A working example here in the USA was the Tennessee Valley Authority. The hope was there would be a web of agencies working for the common good.

Sounds great.

In practice we got the UN. It's the greatest display pf chest thumping and sabre rattling we have. The Security Council is virtually useless. But - there are arms of the UN that work. WHO, UNICEF, FAO and others. These agencies focus on the human condition . So maybe there is hope that if we keep working we can develop a working peace system. Clearly though, the functionalists did not contemplate a radical religios movement hell bent on turning the clock back to the dark ages.

Friday, March 13, 2015

Truth be told, I do not find blogging to be painful or difficult. That's because I typically only post 3 or 4 blogs monthly beyond the weekly LBC topic. That may change shortly when I retire but only time will tell. My point is simple - I do not run out of topics upon which to pontificate or bloviate as Mr O 'Reilly likes to say.

I actually find blogging to be quite pleasant and a good way for a shy guy like me to open up a bit. I have opinions on almost everything and they are fun to share and discuss. It is rare when a topic causes any consternation - only the post I wrote when Lynn died comes to mind. Yet even that post was written in the style that I use for these LBC posts. I just sat down and began writing. What came out were the emotions I was feeling at that moment. I am fortunate to be able to organize my thoughts and get them out without revision - these posts are essentially off-the-cuff as it were. I look up the topic, write and am typically finished within 15 or so minutes.

The musical selections are also off the cuff. I have a fairly substantial and somewhat eclectic music library in my mind - a virtual steel-trap of useless information.

So that's a quick shack take on this weeks topic. Time to see what my pals at the LBC have to say.

For this week's musical interlude I suggest we make this little ditty the unofficial LBC anthem...

Friday, March 6, 2015

Imagine a world wherein the hunters of the group could hardly wait for the opening of cabbage season. Or cauliflower season. Would you believe broccoli season? Welcome to the world of vegetarianism.

Vegetarianism is a lifestyle chosen by many and it is just that - a lifestyle choice. Why - some of my best friends are vegetarians though I'd be hard pressed to name a friend that is vegan - the extreme vegetarian that eschews any animal byproducts as well as meat/fish/poultry. I promise I am not a vegan bigot - I simply haven't come across any in my circle of life.

Vegetarians are said to live longer than we carnivores although I suspect adherents to a Mediterranean lifestyle (when it comes to food) do as well as vegetarians.

Why am I not a vegetarian? Let me count the ways - rare steak, smoked anything, fried fish for starters. Those undoubtedly account for several of the Xs in front of the L on my buffalo petite frame but so be it. But I freely admit that I have enjoyed many fine vegetarian meals and I often joke with my friend Ramana that I'd make a great vegetarian. Quite frankly I intend to lean much more heavily on vegetarian cuisine once I make the upcoming change in my living arrangements in a couple of months. As the door to Texas slaps me in the rear when I cross the border headed for a new location - most likely North Carolina - and a new residence with only my dog Ginger as a companion I intend to learn how to properly create vegetarian meals.

Now don't get me wrong - there will always be room at my table for a well grilled steak or some slowly smoked ribs but I look forward to the challenge of learning a new style of cooking. There're definitely some Indian and Chinese cookbooks in my future.

That's this weeks quick shack-take on the weekly LBC topic, Now it's time to see what the others have to say on the topic.